or why they stay.

A well designed web site, with good and worthwhile material, attracts interesting commentary and response (at least if the person running the site allows for response). And so it is with the Daedalus Project. The response area that follows a short examination of the reasons for leaving an online game (and the question of whether or not playing those games is addictive) is filled with a number of perceptive comments (though the grammar and spelling leave a bit to be desired). One reader/responder reports:

Every one seems to have the problem that Everquest prevents people from having a Normal life. My question to you becomes define normal? Is normal a life simmilar to a given percentage of the population in a selected area? Is it having 1.3 children and an SUV. Before you go claiming that something is ruining someone's life how do you know what is ruin and what is solid in another's life.

I have played Everquest for 3 years, my wife playes everquest with me now, and for us it is our major social activity. I do no miss going to the bar infact I never enjoyed doing so, and am happy to not do that. We still unplug and have social time, but we are probably on most nights, to talk to our friends, to play, to enjoy the game.

Which sort of suggests that a convincing answer to a question of "why do you play online games?" could pretty fairly be "do you have anything better to do?".

Go to: Someone's certainly doing it, or
Go to: It's all in the game.